Watcher, Meet Your Slayer...
by Mystic83
Summary: This is a fic I wrote a long time ago. I think it was right after the end of the 3rd Season. Anyway, it's a unique pairing that, for some reason, I could always see. Give it a chance before you judge!


*author's note: I know some of you Buffy fanatics out there aren't going to like this   
story. I even doubted if I should write it. But it keeps bubbling to the top of my brain so   
here it is, in all it's glory.*  
  
Buffy Summers walked around her old school, or what was left of it. It was the day after   
her fateful battle against the Mayor. That morning, she dragged herself out of bed and   
rushed down to the school for reasons unclear to her. She knew there was something she   
needed to see her but she wasn't exactly sure what that was.  
  
She walked through the rubble as if this was an everyday thing for her. At every turn, she   
expected Principal Snyder to be standing there ready to yell at her about all the trouble she   
was getting into. But in real life, Buffy knew Snyder wouldn't ever yell again, let alone at   
her.  
  
As the sun began to rise, she started to make out what all the rubble was. They were   
books. Hundreds and hundreds of books. Buffy drew in a breath sharply.  
  
"The library," she said out loud to no one in particular.  
  
She hadn't realized how much it would hurt to see this place in ruins. She practically lived   
in this room. Her past experiences started to float to the top of her memory. The time   
that the Anointed One set up a trap for her friends and her Watcher so they could raise the   
Master. The time Druscilla and her minions attacked her friends while Angel distracted   
her. That ended in Kendra's death.  
  
"I don't understand it. How come I live?" she started speaking to herself again. "I've   
outlived two slayers. Well, almost two, assuming that Faith doesn't wake up from her   
coma. What's so special about me that I keep being chosen to live?"  
  
"You're a powerful slayer," a voice replied from behind her.  
  
She whirled around, already in slayer mode. "Giles!!! You scared the shit out of me."  
  
"Well, I've been sitting in your view for about twenty minutes now. I figured you saw   
me," the English librarian said.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing. I'm here to rummage through this disaster zone and   
salvage as much as possible."  
  
"Then, that's why I'm here, too. Find much?"  
  
The Slayer and The Watcher spent hour after hour searching through the debris.   
  
Surprisingly, a lot of the ancient books and weapons were intact.  
  
"You know, Giles, this is a little spooky. I mean, the school gets trashed and everything   
of importance in the library survives," Buffy commented.  
  
"Well, you have to give the credit to Willow. When we first learned the Ascension was to   
happen on Graduation Day, Willow agreed to put a protection spell on anything of importance in the library."  
  
"Oh. Hey! Remember this book?" Buffy said holding up a book entitled Vampyr.  
  
"Yes. If I do remember correctly, I tried to give you that book on your first day of school   
and you freaked out."  
  
"Call me a slayer in denial. What's this?" Buffy holds up another book, only this one is   
the size of a journal. She turns it over in her hands a few times, then opens it up to find an   
inscription. "To Buffy on her 18th Birthday. Guess that's come and gone. What is   
this?"  
  
"It's a Watcher's journal. The Council instructed every slayer to hit her eighteenth   
birthday to undergo a test..." Giles saw an all-too-familiar look in Buffy's eyes. "But you   
already know that, don't you? Anyway, when the slayer completes her test, the Watcher   
is to give her the Watcher Journal he made on her."  
  
"Oh, well, newsflash. I'm eighteen and I passed the test."  
  
"I know. I forgot. See, you're the first slayer to ever pass the test. So, it's not like it was   
something that happened every year."  
  
"Wow, Giles. There's some pretty serious stuff in her."  
  
"It's meant to show you how much you've grown."  
  
Buffy sat down on what used to be a table and began to read the Journal while Giles   
continued searching the wreckage. A particular entry caught her eye.  
  
"I haven't told Buffy yet but I was visited by 'her' while she was out slaying. 'Her'   
was Buffy from another dimension. I was sitting there, researching the demon   
Nomatis, when a circle of light appeared and Buffy cam tumbling through it. She   
got right up grabbed my hand and pulled me into her embrace.  
  
Naturally, I was shocked. I pushed her away and got her to explain herself. She   
explained that she was running from the Vampires that terrorized her. Soon, we   
both figured out she was not of this dimension.  
  
In her explanation, I gathered that Angel was dead (and had been dead for years.   
Buffy had killed him when he first told her he was a Vampire. She never even let   
him explain he was a "good" vampire) and Oz got turned into a permanent   
werewolf and lives in the library cage. Cordelia was put into a mental institution   
after she tried to explain to her mother that she had to leave town because a demon   
was trying to kill her. Xander was, unfortunately, killed by Druscilla when she came   
to stop Willow's spell (In our dimension, this was when Kendra was killed). Kendra   
the Second Vampire Slayer is alive and well for Buffy found her before Druscilla   
could kill her. But Faith was summoned for reasons unknown. The only problem is   
that Spike found her before myself and the others could. She's the first Slayer in   
history to also be a vampire. And unfortunately for us, she was never 'good' like   
Angel is. Willow is a full-blown witch and is almost as strong as a Slayer. Which   
isn't an asset for us because she was the first person that Faith turned into a   
vampire. But the most shocking is the Watcher/Slayer relationship. It seems that in   
this Buffy's world, she and I have a more intimate bond.  
  
Willow was called in and we sent Buffy back to her dimension. I made her promise   
to never tell Buffy what had happened that night."  
  
"Giles?" Buffy whispered.  
  
"You read the part about the Buffy from the other dimension, didn't you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh. Um... it's almost sundown. You should start your patrol. Just because the   
Ascension didn't happen, doesn't mean that all the vampires are dead."  
  
Buffy smiled at him and went to do her duties.  
  
*later that night*  
  
Willow raced down the stairs to answer the familiar knocking on the door.  
  
"Buffy! What are you doing here? At one in the morning? Boy, are you lucky my mom's   
out of town!" Willow babbled.  
  
"I came from the nightly patrol. I have to talk to you about something."  
  
"Oh! Come on in. You might as well stay the night."  
  
After a quick clothing change, Buffy sat on Willow's bed, staring out the window.  
  
"So..." Willow began.  
  
"So what?" Buffy replied.  
  
"You said you had something to talk to me about."  
  
"Oh! Today, I was walking around the school and I ran into Giles. We ended up digging   
out the objects you layed protection spells on. Anyway, we came across his Watcher   
Journal. Turns out he was supposed to give it to me on my eighteenth birthday."  
  
"Don't tell me. He forgot."  
  
"Yeah, you know Giles. Anyway, I'm sitting there reading it and I get to the entry about   
the Buffy from another dimension. Don't you pretend like you don't know what I'm   
talking about. You're allowed to spill the beans. So how much do you know about it?"  
  
"Well, I know this Buffy popped out of a dimensional portal and I know I sent her back.   
That's about it. Giles wanted everything to be hush hush."  
  
"So, he didn't tell you about anything this Buffy told him?"  
  
"No, he didn't. Is that what's bothering you, what the other Buffy told him?"  
  
"Yeah. See, she told him that the other dimension's Giles and her were... they had a..."  
  
"Unique bond? So do you and Giles in this dimension. What's the big deal?"  
  
"Well, you know how my relationship with Angel was."  
  
"Passionate and completely against the rules?"  
  
"Exactly. Well, the other dimension's slayer and Watcher had the same kind of   
relationship."  
  
"You mean, you and Giles..." Willow stopped a minute and her forehead wrinkled in   
thought. "Is that really so bad?"  
  
"I don't know. That's where I'm so confused. I can't think of why that would be so   
wrong. I mean, me and Giles share a unique bond like you said. So, why couldn't we   
be... you know... romantically involved? I can't believe I'm even talking about this."  
  
"I can't believe we're talking about this."  
  
"I can't believe we're talking about it, either. What are we talking about?" called a voice   
through Willow's bedroom window.  
  
"Xander Harris! What are you doing outside my window at two AM?" Willow said.  
  
Xander pulled himself into her room and looked around. "Well, I heard there was a   
slumber party going down and I wanted to get a piece of the action." After receiving too   
not-so-happy glares, he elaborated. "I was sent on a very important mission that could   
only be performed in the dead of the night." Two more glares. "Okay, my mom wanted   
Twinkies. I saw the light on and decided to stop in. So... what were you talking about?"  
  
"Um... nothing," Buffy said trying to sound as sincere as possible.  
  
"C'mon now. Tell Uncle Xander all your problems."  
  
"It was just girl talk," Willow said. "Buffy has a new love interest."  
  
"Oooooo. Do tell, girlfriend. I've always wanted to say that," Xander babbled.  
  
"Don't you have to finish your undercover mission?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Oops. You're right. See you two in the morning. We still on for cleaning up the Magic   
Shop?"  
  
"Yeah, we are," Buffy answered.  
  
"I still can't believe that lady left the store to you, Wil. Then again, with Buffy and Giles   
as your friends, you must have been her most frequent customer."  
  
"I don't believe yet myself," Willow said. "But when they found her will, it left everything   
to me. Kinda ironic, don't you think? If she hadn't of known me, Spike wouldn't have   
attacked and killed her."  
  
"Yeah, but it does have a little 'bite' of destiny to it," Xander said, throwing in one of his   
infamous puns.  
  
"Go!" Willow and Buffy said at the same time.  
  
Xander chose to leave through the door this time. Buffy and Willow watched in silence as   
he pulled out of the driveway.  
  
"So, do you have the Journal with you?" Willow asked. " 'Cause if you did, I'd like to   
read some of it. Maybe it says more about the whole prospect of your relationship with   
Giles."  
  
The two best friends sat down next to each other and began to leaf through the Journal.   
  
Hours passed without them noticing. Around four, Willow noticed another very   
interesting entry.  
  
"Hey, Buffy. Wake up and read this."  
  
"Today, we learned that Faith was working with the Mayor. Everyone is taking it   
hard especially Buffy. I can feel her anger in the fact that someone as virtuous as   
the Slayer could stray down such a crooked path. This anger is what drives her so I   
have no doubt that when the time comes Faith will be dealt with accordingly.  
I haven't written my annual report on the Slayer yet. With the Ascension   
approaching, there just hasn't been time. She is progressing in her studies rather   
quickly. She has learned to use fourty-six new weapons this year. She kills an   
average of two vampires a night and this years has defeated thirty-five demons.  
On an emotional note, she is beginning to display control. Her anger doesn't put   
her into danger as much as it did a year ago. She's becoming more of an   
independent Slayer. I shall miss her when she goes away to college."  
  
"Wow. That's powerful stuff." Buffy whispered.  
  
"Shows he cares. Hey! He kept writing even after your eighteenth birthday. Maybe   
there's something about what you said during the time of the Ascension. There is! I don't   
know he managed it but he wrote during the Ascension. Oh, it's so sweet."  
  
"Hand it over so I can read, Wil."  
  
"As the Ascension unfolds, I find myself wondering what's going to happen with   
Buffy. I am positive she'll survive this ordeal but that's not what I'm worried   
about. I'm worried about what will happen during her college years. She has   
denounced the Council and therefore, though I don't think she fully understands,   
denounced me. I am no longer her Watcher and I don't have to worry about her.  
But I do. She was the only thing that kept me going when Jenny Calendar was   
murdered. Without her, I would have died by Angel's hands in a thousand   
scenarios. Half of them being the times I wanted to go after him, knowing full well   
he wouldn't think twice about snapping me in two.  
  
But Buffy was always there. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. I   
just know I'll die without her in my life."  
  
"Awwwww. It sounds like he really cares for you. A lot more than a Watcher should for   
his Slayer."  
  
"What are you trying to say?"  
  
"I think he loves you."  
  
"Willow, you know he loves me. We share that special bond..."  
  
"Not like that. Like... well... like I love Oz."  
  
"Oh. Am I the only one who finds this odd? The man we all run to for guidance is in love   
with me. I don't think so. Anyway, isn't that illegal?"  
  
"No, it's not. You are eighteen. Anyway, stop putting barriers up and accept the fact.   
Giles is in love with you. Speaking of love, where's Angel?"  
  
"He left last night. To tell you the truth, the magic of our relationship wore off a long   
time ago. We both were trying to hang on to a past that just wasn't holding up. It was   
over from the beginning. We've both accepted it. It's time for me to move on."  
  
"To Giles?" Willow asked.  
  
Buffy responded with a strong pillow wack to the face.  
  
*The next day at Dragon's Cove Magic Shop*  
  
Oz pushed the door to the Magic Shop open and glided in. "Hey, guys."  
  
Buffy, Willow, and Xander stopped what they were doing to greet their friend. None of   
them had seen Oz since Graduation Day and they were getting kind of worried. That is   
until they realized it was his 'time of the month.'  
  
"How was last night?" Willow asked.  
  
"It actually went fine. I can't believe Giles had a cage in his condo. Still, without it,   
there'd probably be more than a few extra bodies to clean up today."  
  
"Hmmmm. A cage? Wonder what he uses that for?" Xander joked. He was quickly   
stopped by a swift elbow jab to the soft spot between the ribs by Willow. "What?!? Can't   
I joke about Giles anymore? I mean, I know he's not going to be around to advise us..."   
  
This time, it was a stomp on the foot. "All I was gonna say was even though he's not   
coming with us to Sunnydale U, he's still our friend."  
  
"I believe what Willow was trying to tell you was shut up," Oz contributed.  
  
"Oh. Don't mind me asking, but why?"  
  
Willow glanced at Buffy who was sweeping up a pile of animal parts on the other side of   
the store. Just to be safe, she dragged Xander outside.  
  
"You know that Buffy's kinda depressed now 'cause she's being forced to leave her   
Watcher behind. He was the one constant in her life and now he's gone. Anyway, she   
just learned how much she means to him."  
  
"How much does she mean to him?"  
  
"A lot more than Angel meant to her."  
  
"What are you saying, Wil?" Xander asked, not sure he really wanted to hear the answer.  
  
"We were reading the Watcher Journal I told you about. Anyway, Giles really poured out   
some of his feeling that he had about her. And well... they were more intimate than you   
could imagine. We think that he's falling in love with her."  
  
"Is this another one of your schemes to punish me for forgetting to bring the snacks on   
our movie nights?" Xander asked.  
  
"No, Xander, this is completely real," Buffy said as she walked out into the street. "A   
pointer for next time, Wil? Always make sure the person you're talking about stays where   
you think they are. Now come on, you two. We have some major work to do and no   
time to do it in."  
  
Willow and Xander looked at one another, shrugged, and followed Buffy inside. It was   
yet another day of manual labor.  
  
*that night*  
  
The Slayer and her three Slayerettes sat at Willow's house. It was Thursday which meant   
one thing. Movie Night. They were in the middle of watching The Breakfast Club when   
there came a loud banging on the front door.  
  
"You guys stay put. I'll get it," Buffy said.  
  
She got up and slowly made her way down the stairs and to the door. She opened it to   
find her newly dismissed Watcher standing there. And he didn't look too good. In fact,   
he looked worse than Buffy on a good day.  
  
"Giles!" She cried as he collapsed into her arms. "Guys! I need help. Giles is hurt."  
  
With a little help from Xander and Oz, they managed to get Giles to lay on the couch.   
They just stood in amazement. They had always thought of Giles as invincible. Nothing   
could hurt the British Watcher. Now it was painfully obvious that that was not the truth.  
  
"Giles, what happened?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Do you remember that entry... cough, cough... into my Watcher's Journal about the   
Buffy from another dimension? Well, she came ......ahhhh.....back again today. Except   
this time was on purpose. It seems that her dimensions' Faith and Willow have ....cough...   
gotten a hold of myself and turned me into a vampire. She was very frantic and said I was   
her last hope."  
  
"Sorry for interrupting you, G-man," Xandar said, "but why'd she kick your butt?"  
  
"She didn't do this. It seems that she left a psychic trail to this world. A trail that the   
Master Witch, Willow, found quite easy to follow. She came with a bunch of Faith's   
followers and as you so politely put it 'kicked my butt'."  
  
"Oh. I stand corrected."  
  
"So, what happened Giles?"  
  
"Like any fight in this dimension, you kicked their butts in return. It was very shocking to   
see you slay your best friend."  
  
"I... I killed Willow?" Buffy stammered.  
  
"It was the only thing left to do. It was either slay her or let me die. You've read how the   
other dimensional Buffy felt about me so the answer was obvious. But I'm also sorry to   
say she, that is you, lost her own life in the fight. I managed to send the remaining   
vampires back to the correct dimension but it was too late. I would be worried except for   
the fact that I know Kendra is still alive in that universe to protect it. Willow might be   
dead but Faith is still alive. And we know her to be a most worthy opponent."  
  
"Hey, guys. Could you give me and Giles a second to talk alone? There's something I   
need to discuss with him." Buffy was practically pleading with them.  
Taking the hint, Willow pointed out that they hadn't finished The Breakfast Club. They   
all wandered upstairs leaving the Slayer and her Watcher alone together. The minutes   
passed as neither one looked at each other nor spoke a word.  
  
"Wow," Buffy eventually said.  
  
"Wow what?" Giles asked, trying to strike up a conversation.  
  
"Wow, I never knew a love could be so great that it would cause someone to kill their   
best friend. And to top it off, that best friend being Willow, Miss Innocent."  
  
"Willow's not as innocent as she leads people to believe."  
  
"That wasn't my point."  
  
"Oh."  
  
And it was back to silence for a few more minutes. The tension between the two was   
clearly visiable. Buffy suddenly became very aware that she was sitting right next to Giles,   
close enough that she could lean over and k....  
  
"What am I thinking?" she said out loud.  
  
"I don't know. You tell me," Giles said in response.  
  
"Oh. Um.... I finished reading my birthday present. It was really touching."  
  
"You should let me explain what the last few entries were about. You see..."  
  
"You don't have to explain. I understand what they meant. What I'd like right now is a   
little confirmation about what it was exactly that you were trying to say."  
  
"Oh. Um... this is hard for me to say to you. Thought I'd never be saying it to anyone   
since Jenny's... Ms. Calendar's death, but I've--"  
  
Giles was interrupted by the living room window shattering above him. A vampire vaulted   
himself through the opening. Buffy instantly morphed into Slayer mode. As she was   
battling the vampire, a mysterious figure pushed the door open. Before Giles could warn   
Buffy, a crossbow arrow came shooting at him. He cried out the same second that she   
slayed the vampire.  
  
She ran to him and looked over the wound. The arrow had entered his shoulder and come   
out his back. She looked up at the 'person' who had shot her Watcher.  
  
"Hey, B," Faith said as she stepped into the light. "Heard I did this before to your love,   
thought I'd try it again to your new one. If you want him to live, come with me. I know,   
I know. Don't even say it, G. You want her to let you sacrifice your life for the   
well-being of the world. Well, I'm all for that. Except if she does let you die, she still has   
to worry about her three friends who are upstairs, being watched patiently by one of my   
new buddies. So, what's it gonna be, B? You gonna come with me or you can watch   
them die."  
  
"Let's go," Buffy said as she started to walk out the door.  
  
Faith abruptly hit her on the back of the neck.  
  
"Now, you didn't think I was gonna let you go consciously. Silly slayer. Pick her up.   
Let's move. She's not going to be out for long."  
  
*later*  
  
Buffy woke up with a major headache. She rolled over to examine her surroundings. The   
floor felt vaguely familiar. She sat up and tried to ignore the pain. A gasp surfaced from   
her throat but she quickly cut it off.  
  
She was laying on the main table in the Library. Ignoring the fact that the library should   
be destroyed, she tried to figure out who all the people in the room were. She could see   
Spike talking to Faith in Giles' old office. Where Druscilla was she couldn't figure out.   
On the landing by the stacks, Buffy saw two bodies. Kendra and Giles. Luckily, they   
were both still breathing. She looked over at the front desk and saw that Giles was still   
alive, too.  
  
"Wait a second! I thought Giles was on the landing." And with a quick check, she   
realized he was. "Okay. Forget that for now. Finish taking in your situation."  
  
In the weapon's cage, a beast was pacing back and forth. Oz on a bad night. Only with a   
quick look out the window, Buffy realized it wasn't night. That's when it hit her.  
  
"We're not in the right dimension," she whispered. "This is the one I've read about."  
  
She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. All she knew was that she had to get   
herself and Giles back to the right reality. The ropes around her wrists and ankles weren't   
meant to hold her, just to delay her from escaping so quickly. And they were a small delay   
but it was a delay that no one noticed. Buffy hoped off the table and made her way over   
to the Giles on the landing.  
  
"Giles? Are you awake?" she whispered as softly as she could.  
  
"Yes, I am. Why didn't you bring a Slayer back with you? We needed a Slayer not   
another Watcher," he whispered back.  
  
"Oh man. You're the wrong one. I'm sorry to have to break it to you so abruptly but   
um.... I'm dead. The Buffy you know and... love did succeed. She came to my dimension   
and found Giles. But she was killed by Faith. I'm so sorry, Giles. I know how you feel."  
  
"From what Buffy tells... told me about your world, you do know. Didn't a similar   
situation happen to you with a fellow named Angel?"  
  
"Yeah, but I'm over that."  
  
"You remind me of my world's Buffy so much. The look in your eyes... it's so familiar.   
  
You love him, don't you?"  
  
"What!" she cried in a whisper.  
  
"Never mind. You'll figure it out on your own. For now, you should go talk to the   
other...uh... me before Faith and Spike find you."  
  
"Speaking of Spike, where's Druscilla?"  
  
"I'm happy to tell you that you killed her a few months ago."  
  
Buffy smiled at the thought of what her other self must have done but quickly switched to   
her battle face as she snuck back across the library. She stopped at the front desk and   
noticed she was in the sight line of the office.  
  
"I'd better make this quck," she thought, "before they see me."  
  
"Buffy? Is that you?" Giles voice was hoarse from all the yelling and talking he had done   
in the past twenty-four hours.  
  
"Yeah, it's me. Listen. We have to get ourselves out of here."  
  
"But they need our help, Buffy. Without us, their world will become like the millions out   
there with unharnessed evil running it."  
  
"Fine. I'll free Kendra. We'll kick some vamp butt and you and me will be home by   
morning," she said as she already started running across the library again.  
  
"I hope it's that easy." he whispered at her back as she vaulted herself onto the landing.  
  
She quickly broke the chains around Kendra's arms and sat her up.  
  
"God, it's good to see you," Buffy confessed.  
  
"It's good to see you too. What's the plan?" Kendra asked.  
  
"Well, I was hoping we do a little distraction type fighting thing and the two Giles can   
manage to cook up a soul returning spell."  
"I don't think that's possible. I've never heard of it happening."  
"Do you remember that mysterious guy who used to help me my sophmore year of high   
school? Well, he was a vampire with a soul. Trust me. It's possible. Now, Kendra and I   
will distract Faith and Spike. I want you to get the other Giles and go to the girls's locker   
room. Don't worry. No one's there and they'll never think to look for you in there. The   
two of you Watchers can put your brains together and make the spell. If it all goes   
according to plan, this world should have two Slayers again. Though, one would be a   
vampire that's beside the point. Let's do it."  
Kendra and Buffy got up and walked right into the office.  
"Hey, Spike. Our neck's are a little stiff. We're going to go for a walk. Wanna come?"   
Buffy said sarcastically.  
"Bloody hell! Who let the Slayers out?" Spike retorted.  
He and Faith calmly got up and walked out into the main library. They took a look   
around, sizing up the situation.  
"Looks like someone also let the Watchers and Fido out, W. Are you up for some   
ass-kicking?" Faith said.  
In response, Spike lashed out at the younger Slayer. Faith shrugged and walked over to   
Buffy. "Any last words, B?"  
"Actually, yeah. Just wanted to let you know that you're losing 1-nothing."  
"What the heck are you talking about?"  
"Well, last time we did this, I killed you. Just thought it might make you work a little   
harder for the win if you knew you were losing."  
Faith's eyes betrayed her feelings. Buffy knew that she had Faith trembling inside herself   
with fear. On cue, they began to fight. Almost immediately, Buffy had her in position   
where it would have been easy for her to be killed.  
"What's the matter, B? Can't do it again. Come on. You've earned another point. Kill   
me. Wait. That's not what you want. You want me to live. But the question is why?   
Guess I"m gonna have to stick around to find out."  
They continued their fight, only stopping briefly to watch Spike being turned into ashes.  
"I never really liked him anyway," Faith lied. "You know, you guys are doing me a fa--- AAAAHHHHH!!!!!"  
She doubled over in pain. She looked up at the two Slayers and spit out, "What the hell  
are you doing to me?" And then she doubled over in pain once again. When she looked   
up again, Buffy noticed there were tears in her eyes.  
"It's working," she whispered to Kendra.  
Finally, Faith collapsed into a ball, exhausted. Buffy immediately picked her up and layed   
her on the couch in Giles' office. As she came out, she saw the two Watchers running in,   
followed by someone she didn't think she'd see in this universe.  
"Oz?!?" she cried.  
"Hey, Buffy."  
"I thought you were a permanent werewolf."   
"Nope" was all he said.  
"Still as unemotional as ever?"  
"Yep."  
"Sorry about Willow."  
"What about her?"  
"Well, she died. I figured you'd be pretty upset."  
"Why? I never liked Willow."  
"Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting this is another world. In my world, you and Willow loved   
one another. Speaking of my world, Giles and I should be getting back."  
"Um... that's what I wanted to talk to you about," the other dimension's Giles said. "You   
see the only thing that can power the time portal is love. Buffy always used her love for   
me to travel. Willow used her love for Xandar. Faith used her love for Spike."  
"So, we'd need to love someone to return," Buffy said.  
"Yes. But the problem is if you're traveling with that person, you both have to verbally   
admit it before you leave. It's complicated but it seemed easy for other Buffy because her   
feelings about me were in the open."  
"But that wouldn't matter unless..." Giles' voice faded out as he realized what the other   
Giles was saying. "Can you two leave us alone?"  
Giles and Kendra nodded and went into his office to check on the now conscious Faith.  
"Buffy? Is what he saying true?" Giles asked.  
"What's he saying?" Buffy said, pretending to be daft.  
"Do... do you love me?"  
"It's against the Watcher's Council's guidelines to have a relationship between a Slayer   
and her Watcher."  
"You're not working for the Council anymore. Besides, that never stopped Merrick when   
he was training his first Slayer."  
"So..."  
"You never answered me."  
" I guess I have to do this if we're ever to get home. Yes. I fell in love with you."  
"When?"  
"I guess I always have. I just figured it out when I read your Watcher's Journal. You said   
some really personal things in there."  
"Yes, but we weren't supposed to ever see each other again after your eighteenth   
birthday."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, a Slayer doesn't need a Watcher if she passes the test on her eighteenth birthday."  
"So, that's why you didn't give me the Journal. You were afraid of losing me."  
"Yes, I was. You've been everything in the world to me these past few years. Everything   
I've done has been for you. I... I love you."  
Suddenly, a portal opened in front of them. Buffy looked at Giles wide-eyed. "Guess we   
can go home now. It might take a while but we'll figure out the next step in our   
relationship."  
They both jumped into a portal as Kendra, Faith, and Giles walked out of the office. Giles   
turned to Faith and smiled. "Now that that crisis is over. I'd like to see how being a   
vampire has affected a slayer's abilities."  
"You don't rest, do you, G?"  
THE END 


End file.
